Fresh Rainbow Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

If you have never had a fresh Vietnamese spring roll before, these fresh rainbow spring rolls with peanut sauce is a great place to begin. Since they are rainbow, they would be great to enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day.

I know life is crazy right now all around the world. The Corona virus has created a mess. However, I’m gonna keep on keeping on with my blog and recipes. I also hope I can help with recipes from my archives as you may be needing to utilize what ingredeints you have in your home.

Now, these fresh spring rolls are uncooked and made with rice paper, unlike the cooked Chinese spring rolls most of us are used to. Those type of spring rolls are made with a pastry and filled with cabage, other vegetables, and meat. To finish, they get deep fried.

These fresh spring rolls, also known as fresh summer rolls, can be filled with cooked shrimp or chicken, vegetables, and/or fruit. This version is all veggies with a little fruit. They are placed in order of color to make a rainbow. Then, you top it with some rice noodles and roll it up burrito style in the rice wrappers.

The rice wrappers just need a dip in some warm water to make then pliable. So no cooking is involved at all with the wrappers. No cooking at all is needed with this version. The most time consuming part is preping the items to gor inside. I made these for all the aldies at my work and they all loved them.

Instructions

To make the spring rolls: Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles just until al dente, according to package directions. Drain, rinse them under cool water, and return them to the pot. Off the heat, toss the noodles with the sesame oil and set aside.

Make sure your prepared fillings are within reach. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat on a cutting board.

Leaving about 1 inch of open rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of red pepper, followed by a few strips of carrot, mango, cucumber, a few leaves of cilantro and mint, and some red cabbage. Top with a small handful of the rice noodles.

Fold the lower edge up over the fillings, rolling upward just until the filling is compactly enclosed. Fold over the short sides like you would to make a burrito. Lastly, roll it up. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients until all 8 wrapppers are filled.

To make the peanut sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and garlic. Whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed to make a super creamy but dip-able sauce.

Serve the spring rolls with peanut sauce on the side. You can serve them whole, or sliced in half with a sharp chef’s knife. Makes 8 servings.